Story One: By The Light
by Miss Natalya
Summary: A re-post of a story posted last year. Has undergone a large edit, and is the first in a series of indeterminate length. MaCrChl, mostly, with others thrown in
1. Introduction

As always, I own nothing, I receive nothing, except the immense pleasure of bending characters to my will. Buahahahaha!  
  
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This story was radically revised 8/15/03 - 8/26/03  
*  
  
Thank you, "Every Degrassi Episode Ever" Marathon, for providing me with  
divine inspiration and random factoids  
  
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This story is an alternate version of the second season (or so it's called in my circles). It begins on the first day of school. JT and the rest are  
grade 8, Paige and the others are grade 9.  
  
Thank you,  
Lolita, formerly Miss Natalya 


	2. The New Year

By The Light  
By Lolita, formerly Miss Natalya  
  
Chapter One: The New Year  
  
"This is it, Manny." Emma Nelson spoke, looking up at the beckoning doors of Degrassi Community School.  
"Our first day as grade eights'." Manny replied, glancing over at her confident best friend. Emma smiled broadly at the anxious look on the face of her friend. It reminded her of the previous year; when they had arrived at their first day of grade seven. She remembered it like it was just last week, everything from the butterflies in her stomach to her memorable introduction to the social hierarchy, compliments of Spinner and Jimmy.  
"You aren't nervous, are you Manny?" Emma asked, grin widening. Manny looked offended at first, and then nodded sheepishly. "There's nothing to be nervous about. We're grade eights' now, we're practically in charge."  
Just as the words passed Emma's lips, Paige and her entourage jostled her from behind. Her books were sent flying in every direction, and Spinner turned to smile patronizingly.  
"You should watch where you're going." He called back, and Paige and Hazel laughed. Emma shook her head as she dropped to her knees to collect her fallen books.  
"I thought we'd finally be rid of them." Manny spoke, picking up a notebook from a nearby puddle and holding it up. She too shook her head woefully as the muddy water dripped back to the ground.  
"I know." Emma conceded, standing back up and starting up the stairs. A familiar voice called her back,  
"Hey, you forgot this." Emma turned quickly, wondering who was calling after her.  
"Oh hey, thanks . . . " she began, stopping short as she noticed whom she was speaking to. He was seemingly perfect, with shiny brown hair falling in his wide brown eyes. He smiled up at her, and she found herself wondering desperately where she had seen him before. Manny merely stood nearby, dumbfounded.  
"You're welcome. You're Emma, right? Emma Nelson?" He asked, walking up several steps so they all stood on the same level. "I'm Craig Manning, you obviously don't remember me. Our mothers' made us dance."  
"Right, at the wedding, you're Craig Manning. I remember. You're going to Degrassi now?" Emma took the book from his hand, and their fingers brushed. She colored swiftly.  
"Yeah, my dad and I just moved into our new house." He replied, and Manny was still confused. "We lived pretty far outside the city last year; I went to Chancery at Saint Denis."  
"Oh." Manny squeaked, and then smiled brightly. There was a brief silence before Craig continued up the stairs.  
"Well, I'll see you guys later. I've got to get to class. I wouldn't want to be late for my first day." He spoke with a wink, passing through the doors and leaving the two girls alone on the steps. They paused before slowly turning to face one another. Together they grasped hands and shrieked loudly. A nearby grade seven looked terrified and scampered away, causing Manny and Emma to laugh loudly. With another, more subdued shriek they followed the crowd into the school. 


	3. Confrontation

Chapter Two: Confrontation  
  
As Emma and Manny walked to class they again passed Paige, who was just now entering her own class with Spinner and Hazel. Tossing back her hair with a manicured hand she surveyed the scene and made a shocking discovery. Someone was sitting in her seat.  
Paige had never seen the girl before. She wasn't particularly tall, but was extremely slender. Paige thought she actually looked rather fragile. Her long, light colored hair fell over her face, which was buried in a thick book.  
Walking swiftly across the room, Paige watched as Spinner slipped into the seat next to the new girl. She stood near the girl's black boot clad foot and waited for recognition. When none came, she cleared her throat. The girl finally looked up from her book, revealing a pretty face and dark green, inquisitive eyes.  
"Can I help you?" The girl asked. Her voice was tinted with a slight French accent.  
"Who are you?" Paige hissed venomously, pearly white teeth looking sharp as daggers. The new girl smiled broadly.  
"Chloe Davidson." She replied, offering Paige her hand. Paige looked at it in disgust.  
"Well, Chloe, I'm Paige Michalchuk. You're sitting in my seat." Paige explained gently. "I was unaware the seats were assigned." Chloe replied, seeming almost apologetic. Paige's nose wrinkled.  
"They aren't." "I guess this isn't your seat then, is it?" Chloe asked, and Paige felt the burn of humiliation color her face. She thought quickly, seeking a way to recover. "Look, hon. Since you're new here I'll let you off the hook this once. Here's a hint, though. Don't cross me. I am the Queen Bee, and you'll regret it." Chloe merely smiled serenely.  
"Well Queenie, you may want to do yourself a favor and run along to the washroom. Apparently it is en vogue around here to wear your clothes a few sizes too small, but I'm pretty sure it's not in fashion to go around with your fly unzipped."  
Paige looked shocked and appalled as her hand flew to her mouth. The eyes of everyone in the room traveled swiftly to the area in question. Sure enough, her zipper lay unused at the base of its track. Paige made a hasty retreat to the washroom as Chloe settled more comfortably into the seat. The laughter was so uproarious that Mr. Armstrong had to ask for quiet several times and threaten three separate students with lengthy detentions before he could begin the class. 


	4. New Allies

Chapter Three: New Allies  
  
"She's deranged." Paige spoke, watching the new girl walk across the courtyard to take a seat on a bench and open her lunch bag. Paige sat on the courtyard wall with Spinner and Jimmy. Spinner shook his head.  
"I don't know, Paige. I think she's kind of cute." He replied, and Paige spun to face him.  
"Cute? How can you call THAT cute! She's a walking fashion faux pas. Only the Goth kids wear that much black, and we all know how cool Goth kids are." She argued, hitting Spinner on the arm.  
"Actually, Paige, I wouldn't exactly call her a Goth. Just because she's dressed in all black, I mean, she's not even wearing makeup." Jimmy added.  
"Yes, she is! I can see her black eyeliner from here!" Paige attested, gesturing wildly.  
"He doesn't mean that kind of makeup. He means the white stuff. And black lipstick." Spinner explained. Paige shrugged.  
"Whatever. I don't care what she is; I think she belongs in an institution." She replied, standing up to go sit with Hazel, who had just arrived in the courtyard. Once she had gone, Jimmy turned to Spinner.  
"Dude, are you stupid or something? Don't you see what you just did?" he asked, and Spinner's face was completely blank. "Oh man, you are hopeless. How long have you been trying to get with Paige?"  
"Since the middle of last year . . . " He said, not really understanding where Jimmy was going.  
"And you still want her, right?" Jimmy continued, and Spinner nodded. "So what would make you think the best way to accomplish that goal would be by telling her you think another girl is cute?"  
"Oh, man!" Spinner cried, leaping to his feet and striking himself in the forehead. "How could I be so stupid? I mean, Chloe's cute, but I didn't mean, and now Paige thinks, oh man!"  
Across the courtyard Spinner's sudden flailing caught Paige's eye, and she shook her head. Hazel noticed it also and turned to her friend.  
"What's Spinner's problem?" she asked, and Paige shrugged.  
"I don't know. He's probably trying to catch the attention of that new girl, Chloe. She's so wretched." Paige replied, and Hazel laughed.  
"You're just mad because she made you look stupid, which was partly your fault. Fashion rule number one: Always, always, ALWAYS check your fly before you leave the washroom. You know that."  
"No, Hazel. Fashion rule number one is: Plaids and stripes together are a total fashion murder-suicide. The fly rule is like, number seven." Paige replied, crumpling up her sandwich wrapper and tossing it into the garbage can. She paused for a moment before continuing. "Whose side are you on, anyway? She was totally rude to me!" Paige cried, and Hazel shook her head.  
"Yeah, she was a little harsh. But you threw some mighty big attitude at her." Hazel reasoned. "There don't need to be sides, Paige. I hope this isn't going to become another Heather Sinclair thing. We aren't going to egg her house, right?"  
"I don't know, Hazel. One thing is for sure, though. I will get her back for this morning." She declared, pausing to sneer at Ashley as the girl walked past.  
Ashley caught the dirty look she was given and felt tears spring to her eyes. She would never get used to Paige's wrath. She had tried to apologize that morning for the things she had said last year, but had been rebuffed. Now, she sat alone with her lunch, thinking over all the ways things could have gone differently. Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.  
"Queenie giving you problems, too?" asked the blonde sitting on the bench next to hers. Ashley wiped the tears from her eyes hastily.  
"It's my own fault. Paige really isn't so bad, when she wants to be." Ashley replied, and the blonde smiled.  
"Yeah, I thought as much. I think I made an enemy out of her this morning, though. I have this really bad habit of speaking before my brain can catch up with my mouth. I'm Chloe Davidson." She spoke, offering a hand.  
"Ashley Kerwin." Ashley replied, taking her hand and shaking it. "You're new."  
"Yep. I spent the last year at a boarding school in Paris. I got kicked out the week before summer holiday, though." She spoke, and Ashley's eyebrows rose. "How?" "It was just a friendly game of strip poker. I don't really see what the big deal was. It really was about the poker, and besides, I was winning." Chloe explained, and Ashley laughed. "So, what did you do to Queenie to cause her face to contort like that?"  
"I had a party last year and took some Ecstasy. Then I called her a hag and told my boyfriend that I was through with him." She explained, tears springing to her eyes once more. "I spent the summer in counseling and tried to apologize to her, but she just laughed at me. I wish I'd never taken that stupid drug in the first place."  
"Yeah, I hear that stuff can really mess you up." Chloe replied, and then decided to try and comfort her newfound lunch buddy. "I don't let it get down. If she's really a worthwhile friend then she'll realize people make mistakes, and she'll forgive you."  
"I hope you're right." 


	5. Reunion

Chapter Four: Reunion  
  
Both girls went back to eating their respective lunches when Chloe caught sight of a dark head across the crowd. Her mouth fell open in shock and she dropped her lunch bag on the floor. Surprising Ashley, she jumped up off the bench and raced across the courtyard to where Craig Manning stood talking to Sean. Without a word she reached up and pinched his ribs.  
Caught off guard, Craig jumped and spun around. There he found the last person in the world he would have expected to see. His heart leapt up into his throat and pounded like a hammer. A look of shock skidded across his face, which was quickly replaced by one of joy as he gathered her up into his arms.  
"Chlo! What on earth are you doing here?" He asked, setting her down. She smiled up at him broadly.  
"Same as you, I imagine, as school is mandatory for most of us. I can't believe it's you! I haven't seen you in over a year!" she cried, kissing his cheeks and quickly squeezing him again. "I missed you."  
"Chloe was my best friend growing up. We were neighbors." Craig explained to the quietly dumbfounded Sean, who still stood nearby. "When you went away to school, I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I missed you so much. Why'd you stop writing me?"  
"I wrote you all the time. In fact, I wrote you last week to tell you I was coming back to Toronto." She replied, a look of suspicion spread across her face. "I just assumed you hadn't been writing because of your mother."  
"I stopped getting letters right after my mother died. Where did you send them?" He asked, an equally suspicious look appearing on his face.  
"To Joey Jeremiah's house. I assumed that's where you still lived." She replied. "You're not living with your father again, are you?"  
"Joey said he'd forward anything." Craig spoke, avoiding the subject and fiddling with his shirtsleeve. He absently tugged it over his wrist bone, where Chloe was sure she saw bruising.  
"Craig." She said, warning in her voice. Craig ignored it and smiled brightly.  
"Well, it doesn't much matter now, does it?" I'm so glad you're home!" He cried, pulling her into another hug. Sean raised his eyebrows and shook his head.  
"Craig, we've got to go to class now." Sean spoke, pulling on his shirt and gesturing toward the school. Craig nodded and kissed Chloe's forehead one last time.  
"Meet me out front after school. We can catch up some more." He told her, walking back up the stairs. Chloe nodded and started back to Ashley, who had watched the whole scene from her spot on the bench. Once she had arrived back Chloe smiled apologetically.  
"Sorry about that." She spoke, helping Ashley gather up the trash.  
"Old friend?" Ashley asked with a grin, and Chloe smiled as the two headed back into the school. 


	6. Catching Up

Chapter Five: Catching Up  
  
The sun had finally appeared as the final bell rang. Craig walked quickly outside to wait for Chloe, only to find her sitting in the warm grass next to Ashley. When she saw him coming she picked up her black messenger bag and moved out on the sidewalk to join Craig.  
"Hey Chlo." He spoke, taking her bag and slinging it over his own shoulder.  
"Hey Craig." She replied, kissing his cheek and grinning madly. The two started to walk down the street. Chloe waved to Ashley a final time before they turned the corner out of sight. They quickly came to a small plot of trees and settled together in the grass.  
"So." Chloe spoke, picking several daisies and beginning to plait them together.  
"So." Craig replied, watching her hands move quickly over the stems.  
"I'm going to get right to the point. Why are you still living with your father?" She asked, pausing her work to lock eyes with him. He quickly shifted his gaze to his own daisy, which he was now making short work of. She waited a moment before reaching out and stilling his hands. "Craig."  
"He's my father, Chlo. He's all I've got. I haven't got anywhere else to go. Joey doesn't want me, now that Mom's gone. Dad loves me. Sort of." Craig replied, eyebrow furrowing as he tossed the flower to the ground. Chloe was suddenly livid. She reached out her hand again to gently grasp his wrist. She used her other hand to push back his sweater sleeve to reveal a budding blue-black bruise which looked as if someone had grabbed him a bit too roughly. Craig quickly pulled away and covered it again. Chloe shook her head.  
"Is that how he shows you he loves you, Craig? By hurting you?" she asked, trying again to capture his eye.  
"It's the only choice I have, Chlo. You just don't understand. I don't want to talk about it anymore." He spoke, effectively putting an end to the topic.  
"Fine. How's Angie?" She asked, finishing up her daisy wreath and placing it on top of Craig's almost-curls. A smile blossomed across his face and he reached into his bag to pull out a binder.  
"She's great. She's getting so big; I go see her whenever I can. It's been so much easier since we moved back to the city." He explained, pulling out several pictures he had printed of her. She shared Craig's shiny hair and bright smile.  
"She's adorable. You two look so much alike." Chloe replied, handing him back a picture of her on a swing. A sudden thought crossed Craig's mind.  
"You want to go see her?" He asked, standing quickly. Chloe nodded and accepted his helping hand. They gathered up their stuff and set of toward the playground. When they arrived, Angie quickly noticed her older brother and raced to meet him. He quickly put down the bags and his camera to catch her as she flew into his arms. They hugged for a moment and then he put her back on the ground.  
"Hey Ang, do you remember my friend Chloe?" He asked, and Angie smiled quietly. She quickly shook her head, struck with sudden shyness. "Well, she's one of my best friends in the whole world."  
"She's pretty." Angie finally spoke. "Craig's pretty too. He looks like a princess."  
"A princess?" He asked, and Chloe began to laugh. Suddenly he remembered the daisy wreath resting on his head. "Oh! You mean because of my royal crown! Well, how would you like to be Princess Angela?"  
Angie nodded vigorously as Craig knelt on the ground in front of her. She giggled as he removed the crown from his own head and placed it on hers. Hers was quite a bit smaller, and so it slipped forward over her eyes. Craig laughed as he tipped it back. Suddenly, from across the playground, a voice called out.  
"Angela! Time to go!" Craig looked up to see Angie's babysitter coming towards them. Craig kissed her cheek and stood up.  
"Gotta go, Ang. I'll see you again soon." He told her, starting away quickly.  
"Okay Craig. Bye Chloe!" Angie called after them, waving as they started back down the street. Once they were a safe distance away they stopped and Chloe tilted her head questioningly.  
"Afraid of the babysitter, Craig?" She asked, watching as Craig caught his breath. He looked at her for a moment before continuing to walk. "Let me guess. Your father doesn't want you seeing your sister."  
Craig shook his head and walked faster down the sidewalk. They walked in silence until they reached Chloe's house. Standing on her front porch, he looked over at the house he used to live in, back when his parents were still together. Things were a lot simpler then, his father wasn't so stressed all the time. He stood there for a long time, deep in thought, before Chloe kissed his cheek and took her bag from off his shoulder.  
"You should get home, Craig. It's getting late. Unless you want to stay for dinner, that is."  
Craig thought longingly for several moments about joining the Davidson family for dinner. Mr. and Mrs. Davidson had always treated him like a son, and he enjoyed eating at their house. In the end, though, he forced himself to shake his head.  
"No, Dad will worry." He replied, starting back down the stairs toward his own house, which happened to be four streets away. "I'll see you tomorrow."  
Chloe nodded and waved a final goodbye before entering the house and leaving him alone on the street. 


	7. Homecoming

Chapter Six: Homecoming  
  
Craig quickly made off toward home, cutting through several backyards and finally arriving at his back door. He tried to be quiet as he pushed open the screen door and entered the kitchen. Unluckily for him, however, his father was sitting at the kitchen table. The room was dark, and Craig's heart was beating wildly. He tried to play it cool.  
"Hi dad. Sorry I missed dinner . . . " he began, dropping his camera and bag by the door and reaching for the light switch. His father was quicker than that, though, and grabbed his sore wrist before he even came close.  
"I work all day to put food on the table, Craig, and you just let it go to waste. Do you know how late you are?"  
"Dad, you're hurting me." Craig spoke quietly, attempting to calm the growing rage of his father. He tried to pull away, but his father's grip only strengthened.  
"Where were you?" he growled, pulling his son closer. Craig attempted to force his voice into light tones.  
"I was catching up with Chloe. You remember Chloe Davidson? She's back from France . . . " Craig's father nodded. "She said she's been writing me. I haven't been getting any letters. Do you think Joey might not be forwarding them?"  
"I thought I told you never to mention his name in this house. What are you accusing me of?" His father asked, and Craig could feel the danger in the question.  
"Nothing! Nothing, dad, I wasn't accusing you of anything . . . " Craig attempted to change the path of the conversation but was failing miserably.  
"If I did withhold any letters it was for your own good." His father spoke, shaking Craig by the wrist and causing pain to shoot up his arm. He felt the anger swell up in him.  
"My own good? You mean you have Chloe's letters?" he finally ripped his arm away from his father's iron grip. "You had no right to do that!"  
"I have every right. I'm your father. Do not speak to me in that tone, Craig."  
He tried to move out of reach but his father grabbed him again. Gripping him by the back of the neck, Craig's father pulled him roughly upstairs and tossed him into his room. Craig landed on the ground in an untidy pile, making an awful crashing sound.  
"Don't miss dinner again." He growled before slamming the door. Craig stood quickly and tried to open the door again. Even though the door locked from the inside, some moronic architect had designed all the doors in the death trap of a house to open out, so a chair lodged under the doorknob could prevent the door from opening. After a moment's struggle he gave up and collapsed back onto the bed, rubbing his wrist. He eventually fell into a fitful sleep.  
  
"I can't believe you danced with him!" Manny cried, flopping down on Emma's bed, where Emma herself already lay. Emma pushed back a stuffed animal that had fallen on her head and sighed contentedly.  
"I know, Manny. And he remembered me, too! I knew there had to be something good that would come out of having grade nines' at Degrassi!" Emma cooed, turning over to face her friend. "Not that it matters, I mean, I still like Sean."  
"Yeah, of course. What about me, though? Couldn't you just picture us together?" Manny asked, eyes growing dreamy. Emma frowned quietly.  
"You like him?" She asked, catching herself before she said more. Manny thought for a minute.  
"Yeah, I guess I do. You don't mind, do you? I mean, I know you sort of like him and all, but like you just said, you still have Sean." Manny questioned, and Emma began to wonder. She knew she liked Sean. She always had. But the truth was, since she had seen Craig that morning she had noticed a growing sense of longing. It shouldn't have bothered her so much that her best friend liked him; she did deserve him after all. Finally quelling the waves of uneasiness in her heart she smiled.  
"It's fine, Manny. You can like whoever you want. I do have Sean, and one man is more than enough for me." Emma replied, causing Manny to smile uncontrollably.  
"Oh thank you Emma! You're the greatest friend ever!" Manny cried, wrapping her arms around her friend. Emma smiled weakly. Manny was right. She was the greatest friend. So why didn't she feel that way? 


End file.
